Zayn's POV
"I really don't want you to go."
I continue packing my suitcase as Charlie zips up my leather backpack. I've been procrastinating all day, so naturally I wait until about an hour until my car will be here to pack. I turn and look at her, and much like Liyana, she's giving me the puppy dog eyes and famous pout that makes me do whatever the hell they want. "I know; you've told me so repeatedly for the last- oh I don't know, six hours."
"Can I pull the pregnancy card? Like, you can't leave because I need you here to take care of me."
"Except you can still see your feet so you don't need me here all that much," I chuckle and she groans. "Plus, a week will be over before you know it, love."
"I know, but..."
"Real great argument you got there."
She walks over and clings on to my waist as I continue to shove shit into my suitcase, not making the process any easier. "You don't seem all that upset to be getting away from me," she states. "I'm all upset that you're leaving and you're jumping for joy on the inside."
I sigh. "Is that so? You know I don't want to leave you guys, but I can't exactly call this off. It's been a long time in the works, and how often do I fly out for business compared to other CEOs?"
When she doesn't say anything, I consider it mission accomplished. Except when she trails her fingers up my chest. "What if I give you a blowjob?" She squeaks and I laugh at her. "Everyday for the week you're supposed to be gone?"
I fold my arms around her neck, kissing the top of her head. "Tempting, especially after the show you put on last time, but...duty calls."
She pouts again. "And you're not even gonna give me any before you leave."
So that's what she's pressed about? I bury my face in her hair and laugh even harder. "I seriously don't remember your hormones being this out of whack the last go-around."
"Seriously me neither," she chuckles. "But I just want it and all the time. I don't even know what to do about it. Like, when we weren't doing it those few weeks, I was miserable, but I didn't wanna say anything because, like..."
"Well, that's why they have vibrat-"
"Okay, okay," she huffs, blushing. "Now come on. Since you won't stay, I don't want to prolong my sadness, so let's get you packed and out of here. There's a car coming to pick you up, right?"
"Yeah, it's stopping by to get Gina first, and then coming to me. And then we'll meet up with Jawaad when we get there." She nods, turning to repack my suitcase because according to her, rolling my clothes saves space.
"And uh, you and Gina will um, be in separate rooms, of course..." she trails off and I smirk.
"No. Why the hell would we do that? We're even sharing a standard bed, wouldn't you know it."
When she looks up and glares, I know I've pushed it too far. "Not funny."
"Fine. Yes mum, we will be in separate rooms. Now come on, don't be like that. You know Gina," I reassure her. "And you know I would never-"
"Yeah, I know. I trust you- just making sure, you know? And I like Gina. I don't think she'll try anything anyway, especially not after what she heard that one time in your office."
I grin. "Yeah, that was fun. We should do it again sometime."
"Yeah, whatever," she laughs, turning around and slinging her arms around my neck. "Now seriously, let's get you out of here."
Now who's in a rush?
We walk downstairs, Charlie carrying my backpack (against my better wishes), while I have my suitcase. The kids look hilarious, literally lined up in a row on one of our quilts wearing footie pajamas. They're on their stomachs with their chins in their hands, focused on a gripping episode of Dragon Tales from one of Rai's DVDs.
"Come here guys, come say bye to daddy," Charlie interrupts.
All three of their heads turn around and they take in the site of me with my bags before they're up and running. Several sets of hands wind around my legs; I kneel down giving each one of them a hug and kiss. "Be good for mum, you hear? Especially you," I point to Liyana, but she gives me that mischievous smirk that tells me she's about to wreck on shit before clinging to my arm. "And I'll be back in a couple of days, yeah?"
She looks at me and pouts, probably not sure what I'm saying, but I just smirk and peck her forehead.
"You gonna be gone for free days?" Marley asks, holding up the number four with his fingers. Everything is three to him, no matter what, since that's how old he turned.
I wrap him in a hug. "Nope, buddy. A little more than that. But you'll man the fort, right?"
"What?" He asks, and Charlie snorts.
"Nothing. Be good, look after your sister and your friend, and I'll be back before you know it." He nods, throwing his little arms around me the best he can. I whisper how much I love him in his ear in Urdu, knowing he'll understand the phrase, since after son and dad, that's the phrase we've been working on.
He looks at me and grins, repeating it the best he can.
I move onto Adrian, who's already waiting for a hug. "And you, little guy, I know you'll behave. You let Cherries know if you need anything, okay?"
"Cherries no go?" He says, and I shake my head no. He just hugs me tighter before going over and giving Charlie a hug.
I need to get outta here before I say fuck it and decide to stay home.
"I made you something," I hear from next to me. I look up at Charlie, who then leads me to the kitchen with my bags as the kids follow behind us. She hands me a brown paper lunch bag, her lips pursed to the side. "What! It's the mom in me, okay? I packed you dinner to go. But don't open it until you're on the jet."
I shake my head and take the bag from her, before sitting it on the counter. "Come here." She timidly walks into my open arms, eventually winding her own around my back. "Jab tak is mohabbat ka phool na khilay, Tab tak is dill ko sukoon na miley, Dil day mujhe," I whisper the saying in her ear [A/N: It's phonetic, obviously, and I seriously hope I didn't butcher it because I literally took it right off of a lyrics site. So if I butchered it, then so did they :)]
She looks up at me with furrowed brows. I don't really say too much to Charlie in Urdu, but if I do, I go with simple things that she's heard me say before. "It's beautiful. What does it mean?"
I kiss her on the side of her cheek. "Look it up," I say just as a horn sounds from outside. "Now, that's my cue."
"Bu-"
"Bye, jaan."
"Bu-"
"Bye kids. Love you all, and I'll call when I land."
"Bye daddy. We love you da mostest!"
//
"I'm so excited. I know it's business, but like...I hear it's really beautiful there."
I nod, not paying too much attention to Gina since I'm busy sending an imessage to Jawaad, telling him we'll be landing in less than half an hour. It'll be just after three in the afternoon when we land, and while I took a lengthy nap on the flight, I'm still quite tired. Knowing Jawaad, though, he's gonna wanna talk business as soon as we land, regardless of the time.
"And the hotel I booked is spectacular. It's like, underwater or something."
"Or something?" I snort, briefly glancing over at her. "You booked it Gi, and you have no idea whether or not it's underwater?"
Though I wish she would have told me that before because I would have tried to talk her out of it. I'm sure it's beautiful, but something about sleeping underwater puts me on edge. But I guess that's what you get when you give someone free reign.
"Yeah but...I dunno. I kind of booked it because it has great reviews."
"Nice."
"I like the picture on your homescreen." She points down to it as I sit my phone on the center console between us. It's that picture of Charlie, the kids and I from when we went camping. Speaking of Charlie, I can't forget to call when I land. I've also got to thank her for the dinner she packed; it was literally all my favorite shit, along with one of those cards she got me for Christmas a couple of years back; you know, the porny ones and this one is for an activity of my choice when I get back.
I'm smiling at the picture, not realizing that Gina's watching my every move.
"You're so...happy. And in love. It's great," she says. "You've definitely changed over the last two years, and not in a bad way."
I just shrug, not really all that comfortable with Gina to be so open about my feelings. I mean, Stevie Wonder could see that I'm in love with Charlie and value my family more than anything, but opening up is still something I struggle with.
"You don't have to say it. I can see it all over your face," she laughs. "So you went over the schedule for this week, I hope?"
I feel the jet begin to descend, and you'd think as many times as I've flown back and forth between Bradford and the states, that I'd be used to planes, but that's hardly the case. I remember my first plane ride- which just so happened to be when I came to New York for the first time before
Freshman year. Fucking Jawaad told me the plane would loop de loop, and my dumb ass believed him. So the whole time I'm waiting for it to turn upside down, and it never did.
I cursed him out when I landed.
Anyway, back to now. "Yeah, pretty much. I was up late last night looking over everything. Tomorrow morning, we have a meeting with the guy who's going to be in charge of the Dubai branch, as well as the board. Then we'll go out and take a look at the site, make sure construction is coming along nicely. And the next day we're selecting the top executives. I don't remember what else off the top of my head, but I know there are a lot of conferences."
"Yes, good. I'm proud of you," she breams. "But remember, that doesn't mean you can't have fun. How often are you going to be in Dubai?"
"Yeah, I know. I'll think about it."
"I'm holding you to it. Hopefully we don't have to work too hard so we can enjoy a night out on the town."
Luckily, Jawaad messaged me back a few minutes ago saying that he'd see us at the hotel when we arrive. I look out the window, noticing a huge ass glass building coming into view. I think I see a helicopter landing pad not too far off in the distance, as well. Fucking shit; I can only imagine how much this cost me. "Holy hell," I say in disbelief.
"Right? Isn't it great?"
Twelve fucking hours later, but we're here. And yeah, it really is something.
The jet lands smoothly a few minutes later on the pad. I look over to make sure Gina's got everything; she's beaming and I don't know how she's not exhausted since I'm pretty sure she didn't sleep. "I'm so excited I could go out and explore right now," she grins. She looks super casual in a pair of gray sweats, a maroon PINK sweatshirt and some Puma trainers. She looks over at me, grins even wider and shrugs her shoulders.
"Yeah I couldn't tell."
*
Literally as soon as we hop off the jet, there's a bellhop waiting, ready to take our stuff. First things first, I sling my backpack over my shoulders and get out my phone to call my babe. The phone rings a few times, and I know it's pretty early there (well seven in the morning, so she's probably just getting up and getting the kids together). But knowing her, she stayed up all night worrying...especially after what happened with my parents. She didn't say it when I was leaving, but I know that's a big reason as to why she didn't want me to go. "Hello?" She says groggily. I can just imagine her greenish-hazel eyes changing colors as she rubs at them.
"Good morning, sleepyhead. Just calling to let you know we landed."
"Shit, what time is it?" She asks, and I hear some moving around. "Damn, I'm late." She yawns. "It's a good thing you called, then."
"Yeah, I guess so," I tell her. "The kids aren't up yet?"
"No," she says with the same disbelief in her voice that's in mine. "It's actually shocking; usually Marley's in here jumping on my head at this time."
"Yeah seriously."
"I wonder what's ke- whoops, spoke too soon," she chuckles, then I hear what sounds like little feet running across the carpet. "Ouch, ouch. Mar, baby. Hold- hold," she stops, sighing. "Right."
"Who dere on da phone? Dat's daddy?"
"Yes it is."
"Oh, I gonna have da phone? I gonna say hello?" I hear him saying in the background.
"You sure can, baby," Charlie says, handing him her phone, I presume.
"Daddy? You dere? It's me. It's Marley."
I smile. "Hey buddy. I miss you already. You getting ready for camp?"
"Yes, I gonna wake my friend up. Him's is still sleeping. And Li Li sleeping too. And den- and den mummy gonna gived me clothes, and daddy? I gonna dress myself today!" Charlie's laughing in the background and I just shake my head. "Okay daddy. Mummy sayed I have to get washed up, so I gots to go now, okay? But she sayed I can call you later, okay?"
"Sounds good. Don't forget about me!" Charlie's probably gonna get him off the phone because she knows he'll sit and talk to me all day.
"I not gonna, baba!" He giggles as I walk into the elevator just after Gina.
He must run off towards the bathroom because Charlie takes the phone back, still laughing. "He's bonkers," she says. "Absolutely bonkers. Anyway, what's your plan for today?"
"If Father Jawaad will let me, I'd like to go to sleep," I chuckle and so does she. "But I don't know if that's gonna happen. Probably wouldn't be very smart either, cause that'll fuck me up for tomorrow, which is a big day."
"Take a power nap, maybe, that might wo-"
"Cousin!" I hear as the elevator doors open.
I nod at Jawaad and he rolls his eyes, probably already knowing who I'm on the phone with. "Alright babe, I gotta go. Jawaad's here, but I'll talk to you later, yeah?"
"Okay, sounds good. Love you, baby. Come on now, say it back!"
"So weird. So weird. But I love it. And you, I suppose," I say, my cheeks tinting. "Talk to you later."
"Someone's whipped!" Jawaad says as I shove my phone in my pocket, followed by me giving him the finger.
"Alright, so here's the deal. Work doesn't officially start until tomorrow, but what we can do is..." Of course, I think to myself as he drones on. Of course I can't nap. "So put your stuff down, and we'll take the yacht out."
Gina squeals. Jawaad smirks. But why the hell can't I just sleep?
*
So we're on a yacht because according to Jawaad, I need some color. I mean, I guess it's a pretty decent alternative to sleeping. But what if I sleep on the yacht, though...
"So how's New York treating you?"
I remove my sunglasses and open an eye to find Jawaad staring at me. He silently asks if I want a beer, but I decline. He then opts to spark up a joint and pass it to me, which, yeah okay, I'll go with it. "It's alright, though your fucking fantastic, genius act known as 5 Seconds of Dickheads is pissing me off again."
Jawaad glares at me as I turn to face him from where I'm laying out, passing the joint back to him. "What did Luke do now?"
"Drop them from the label," I state simply, putting my Raybans back on and turning back over.
"What?" He chuckles, his voice coming out funny as he exhales smoke. "Why?"
"I'm serious. I don't want anything to do with him. He pissed me off and now he's trying to blackmail me. I'm not playing his game, fuck that."
"But they can bring in a lot of money," he tries to persuade, taking a sip from his bottle and passing the joint back to me.
"And I don't give a flying fuck. Terminate the contract, pay them out, and drop them."
He sighs, but finally, "Fine. If that's what you think is best."
I can tell he's looking at me long and hard, but I don't care. I've made up my mind and that's final. I've also decided that the best approach is to just talk to Louis when I get back to the states. I'm still pissed at him and I think we all know I can easily hold a grudge, but since I'm not playing into Luke's shit, I might as well go to the source of the problem, right?
Charlie's POV
"Welcome to the ten week mark, Charlie."
I grin, swinging my legs as I sit on top of the exam table. Liyana's perched in my lap; I had to bring her to work with me today- and probably the rest of the week, since El is all booked up with gigs. Thank God for Harry; since he's a counselor at Mar and Adrian's camp, they go with him after it's over until I get done with work.
"Dare I ask about Zayn?" My doc definitely thinks we're dysfunctional to say the least, but he doesn't voice so...well, sometimes.
"He's away on business for the week. But it's cool, I'll show him the picture when we FaceTime later." He was actually really bummed out when he realized that my appointment conflicted with his business trip. I guess I'm lucky he's not making me video chat him in.
"Phew, I was worried."
I narrow my eyes at him, but he just chuckles. "Anyway, everything looks great. Baby's right where he or she should be. When I see you next, we should be able to figure out the sex, which- are you going to find out this time around before the delivery?"
"Probably not," I chuckle. "We like surprise, in case you couldn't tell."
"Clearly, as evident by your three surprise pregnancies." He looks at Li, who's now struggling to get down from my lap.
"Li, stop," I tell her, using my best authoritative voice, but it doesn't work. "Liyana." She begins to whine a little now, still attempting to get down. I don't know what the heck her problem is; she's been fussy over the past two days, and completely not with my shit. "No!" She says, her body turning jelly-like. I have no choice but to hop down from the table and try to control her in my arms so that she doesn't fall.
"Well since you don't want to listen to me, how about I call daddy," I say, and weirdly enough, she stops mid-cry, looking up at me...of course with furrowed brows. He claims he can't discipline the kids, but he has this almost cold-like, powerful tone to his voice he uses when the kids are misbehaving; one that they find themselves listening to.
"Daddy me," she whimpers, her face falling.
I narrow my eyes, finally getting it. She misses her dad; he's been gone for two days now, and she's not used to going this long without him. I won't deny that she's been with Zayn pretty much since the day she was born, so they have a more solid bond than her and I do. She goes everywhere with him, and I bet she'd be right alongside of him in Dubai, given the chance. She's basically the definition of a daddy's girl.
"I know baby," I cradle her close to my chest, and surprisingly, she begins to quiet to slight sniffles. The doctor nods in understanding, telling me that we're free to go, and to just call in to the office to make my next appointment as opposed to stopping by the desk on our way out.
I thank him, heading straight outside. I take out my phone to call Harry and tell him I'm on my way, but it's starts ringing before I can even dial. I furrow my brows; it's unknown. I debate on answering it, but decide to just go for it because it might have to do with Zayn. But when I do, I hear nothing for a solid minute until the line clicks.
"Weird," I say to Liyana, who's looking up at me with her finger in her mouth. "Now come on, missy. Let's get your brothers."
A/N: So Zayn's in Dubai and Li's pissed :(
I hope you like this one; it's kind of a filler, but I just wanted a separate chapter of him leaving.
Thoughts about Louis? Luke? Zayn's decision to drop Luke?
Please vote and comment, follow, etc. etc.
And enjoy your day, of course :)